‘There is no getting rid of them;’ Invasive tick species spreading across Ohio

WHIO
·1 min read
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning about an invasive tick species that is spreading in Ohio.

The “Asian long-horned tick” arrived in Ohio in 2021, according to scientists from Ohio State University. Since then it has grown to more than a million ticks in the Buckeye State.

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Three cows in the southeast part of the state recently died after being bitten by the ticks, researchers said.

“They are going to spread to pretty much every part of Ohio and they are going to be a long-term management problem. There is no getting rid of them,” said Risa Pesapane, senior author of the paper and an assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State. “The good news about the ticks, though, is that most tick control agents that we currently have seem to kill them. Still, managing them is not easy because of how numerous they are and how easily they can come back.”

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It’s unclear how much risk there is to humans. Researchers say the ticks appear to be less attracted to human skin.

For more information about Asian long-horned ticks, you can visit the CDC’s website here.